fear.
"What—" I had to stop to clear my throat. "What brought you to Los Angeles?"
He smiled and touched my cheek. "Relax, Roger. Please don't be afraid of me."
"I'm not ... afraid," I said. "Just a little overawed, I guess.
It's not every day a guy gets to have cheese and wine with a vampire," I added, trying for some levity.
He chuckled, and picking a small piece of cheese from the plate, held it near my lips. I accepted it, taking his fingers into my mouth, my eyes meeting his, showing my trust in him. He leaned forward, kissing me gently.
"I came to the United States almost by default," he said, after a moment or two. "Europe, Africa, Asia are vast continents, and even for someone like myself, living as I have for hundreds of years, there are places yet to be seen. Still, I longed for new adventure, and I had heard of this new land, wild and untamed."
"You mean West Hollywood, right?" What a wit I am.
He smiled patiently. "Not quite."
"So, you're talking about the wild west and all that stuff?"
"Something like that. But you asked why I came to LA.
That was a recent decision. I've been here only a matter of months. A great deal of my time has been spent learning modern English. I didn't want to appear too much of an antique every time I addressed someone."
34
My Vampire and I
by J. P. Bowie
"I love the way you talk," I said, meaning every word. "I could listen to you all day and night."
"Thank you and I will return the compliment by saying I could look at you, all day and night."
Wow. I cleared my throat again. "You said earlier there was a time when you longed for death..."
"First, I should tell you how I came to be what I am. I was twenty-five when I was changed. The man who made me was a stranger my father had given hospitality to for the night. A handsome man, Polonius, and one to whom I felt drawn. I was to be married in a month—" "To a woman?" I interjected, my mouth full of bread and cheese.
"Yes, Roger, to a woman. It was expected of me. My father was a Senator of Rome. I would be expected to follow in his footsteps, marry, have children. I had done my stint in the army, fighting the barbarians—a losing battle I'm afraid, as your history books no doubt informed you." So that's where he'd gotten that magnificent body—he'd been a fighting soldier. Again, I felt the heat in my groin as I imagined him wearing a centurion's uniform, bare thighs flashing in the sunlight. Ooh, baby ... Russell Crowe, forget it.
"Anyway," he continued, "that night, he came to my room.
He made love to me in a way no one before had. I knew married life had no allure for me, but after this incredible experience, it held even less. Polonius sensed it in me and asked me if I wanted to share his life. When I acquiesced, he told me some of what was involved."
"And you agreed..."
35
My Vampire and I
by J. P. Bowie
"You're quick, Roger."
"Sorry, that was dumb..."
He drew me into his arms and kissed me—hard.
"You are adorable. Not dumb at all," he said. He held me as he continued, and I snuggled against him, my head on his chest. "We left the next morning before the servants were up.
Over the course of the next few days, he changed me from a mortal man into what you now see."
A magnificent specimen , I thought.
"A vampire," he said. "And a fledging one then, at that.
Almost immediately, Polonius left me without schooling me in the ways of survival, without telling me of what I should be aware." "But why, Marcus?" I sat up and stared at him. "Why would he do such a terrible thing?"
"Fear, I think. Fear of what he'd done. I have since discovered he had been changed only a few months before he came to my home. His master had cast him out, for what reason I do not know. I never saw him again. That, to me, has always been an amazement. In all these centuries of my existence, not once have I come close to finding him—not even hearing his name. I have to imagine that, somehow, death came to him."
"Is that when you longed for